Three dead in massive pileup on I-94 in Indiana

Three people were killed and more than 20 hurt in a massive pileup in Northern Indiana on Thursday. The pileup on the eastbound lanes of I-94 happened near Michigan City, about 60 miles from Chicago.
AP

About 15 tractor-trailers and 15 other vehicles crashed during whiteout conditions near Michigan City.

This Jan. 23, 2014, pileup on Interstate 94 near Michigan City, Ind., was blamed on whiteout conditions. At least three people died.(Photo: Matt Carpenter, Sun-Times Media/AP)

Three people died and more than 20 others were injured Thursday in a massive pileup involving tractor-trailers and passenger vehicles on Interstate 94 in northwestern Indiana.

The Indiana State Police said one injured person remained trapped several hours after the series of crashes, which occurred about 3:30 p.m. near Michigan City, Ind., between Exits 26 and 40. Police blamed the pileup, which involved about 15 semis and 15 other vehicles, on whiteout conditions from a lake-effect storm blowing through the region.

All eastbound lanes were closed, and several state roads were either closed or blocked in what was called a "critical disruption" of traffic. Traffic was being rerouted slowly on the westbound lanes.

Whiteout conditions also caused several other crashes on I-94, which troopers called "impassable."